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The Indian Act
Created in 1867, the main goal of the Indian act was to force European-Culture onto First Nations. This Act gave a large amount of power to the Department of Indian Affairs, which allowed them to decide who was Indian and what rights they were permitted to. As a result First Nations were treated poorly; they were forced into residential schools and forced to live in rural areas.
https://thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/indian-act-plain-language-summary -
Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat, beginning the US Montgomery bus boycott
Rosa Parks was fined and arrested for refusing to give up her bus seat for a white man. This immediately caused the bus boycott of Montgomery, Alabama. The boycott was lead by Martin Luther King with almost 40,000 African Americans boycotting the system and planned to continue it until public segregation was made illegal. 381 days later, the Supreme Court ruled that segregation on public buses was unconstitutional.
https://www.history.com/topics/black-history/montgomery-bus-boycott -
Civil Rights Act of 1964 passed and signed into US law
in an effort for an egalitarian society, the Civil Rights Act prohibited discrimination on the basis of race, colour, sex, origin and religion. It encouraged the start of desegregated schools and equal voting rights. It was signed by President Lyndon Johnson.
https://www.dol.gov/agencies/oasam/civil-rights-center/statutes/civil-rights-act-of-1964# -
United Farm Workers formed by Dolores Huerta and Cesar Chavez
An association formed to empower migrant farm workers while also educating members on political and social issues. It made efforts to improve their wages and working conditions. Its most significant action was sponsoring a strike by California grape pickers and forming a nationwide strike of California grapes. -
Royal Commission on the Status of Women in Canada (RCSW) presents its recommendations to improve the status of women
Provided an overview of the status of women and included 167 recommendations for reducing gender inequality across Canada. At the House of Commons the RCSW defined the status of women as a social problem. They announced that it should be addressed as in a collective manner and specified the obstacles.
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/royal-commission-on-the-status-of-women-in-canada -
United Nations Declaration of International Women's Year
In an effort to alert the world on women's inequality throughout the world. The first conference on the status of women was held in Mexico City, Mexico. They identified full gender equality and elimination of gender equality, integration of the development of women and an increased contribution of women to world peace.
https://www.un.org/en/conferences/women/mexico-city1975 -
Immigration Reform and Control Act passed and signed into law in the US
Signed into law by President Ronald Reagan, this act introduced penalties to employers who hired undocumented immigrants to work in the U.S. It required employees to prove their work eligibility (form 1-9) and citizenship through documents. The act also allowed for legalization, permitting lawful permanent residence.
https://guides.loc.gov/latinx-civil-rights/irca -
First woman Prime Minister in Canada, Kim Campbell.
Campbell was politically involved before becoming the Prime Minister of Canada. She was Canada's first female justice minister and attorney general, minister of national defence and of veteran affairs. She assumed leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party and held her role as prime minister for nearly five months from June 25 to November 3,1993.
https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/kim-campbell